Operating mechanism for electric switches



J. A KEIRANS OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ELECTRIC SWITCHES Filed April 3,1958 June 23, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR n 3, 1959 J. A. KEIRANS 72,892,059

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ELECTRIC swrrcmas Filed April 3, 1958 sSheets-Sheet '2 II. [Es-.5

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35 r kl/Z INVENTOR Josm/ A KE/RANS WEN AGENT June 23, 1959 J.'A. KEIRANS,8

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ELECTRIC SWITCHES Filed Ap ril a, 1958 i sSheets-Sheet l/vve/vroe J 05ml 4. Kama/vs AGENT United States PatentOPERATING MECHANISM FOR ELECTRIC SWITCHES Joseph A. Keirans, Logansport,Ind., 'assign'or to Essex Wire Corporation, Fort Wayne, Ind.

.Application April 3, 1958, Serial No. 726,246

Claims. (Cl. 200-105) This invention relates'to electric switches and,more particularly to the construction of operating mechanisms forelectric switches. As described, the invention is embodied in a switchwherein the reciprocal movement of the operating member causes rotarymovement of a contact bridging member. However, the invention isapplicable to other mechanisms of similar and related types as willbecome apparent.

The present invention has particular utility when adaptedto remotelycontrolled solenoid operated electric switches of the type known assequence relays. Switches of this type may be employed in various typesof control systems where it is desirable to selectively control aplurality of load circuits by intermittently energizing the sequencerelay.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved operatingmechanism for electrical switches.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved arrangementand construction for controlling the operation of a contact bridgingmember in a sequence rela Still another object of this. invention is toprovide an operating mechanism for electrical switches of simple andsturdy design which is reliable in operation;

A further object of this invention is to provide an operating mechanismfor an electrical switch including a contact bridging member rotatableupon reciprocal movement of a switch operating member which provides apositive driving movement of the contact bridging member and whichprevents the contact bridging member from becoming disengaged from thefixed contacts of the switch except during driving movement of thecontact bridging member.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an electricswitch having a contact bridging member sequentially rotated withoutaxial movement thereof through a plurality of circuit controllingpositions in response to reciprocal movement of a solenoid operatedplunger.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be come apparent froma consideration of the following description taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which: D

Figure 1 is an elevational view of one end of a device embodying thepresent invention.

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the other end otthe device.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the device.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 44 ofFigure 1.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the indexing elements ofthe device,that is, the inner driver, the outer driver, and the carrier, showndisassembled but in their proper order of assembly.

Figure 6 is a top plan View of the inner driver shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the outer driver shown in Figure 5.

2,892,059 Patented June 23, 1959 "ice Figure 8 is a bottom plan view ofthe carrier shown in Figure 5.

Figure 9 is a plan view of a terminal plate taken from the planeindicated by the lines 99 of Figure 3.

Figure 10 is a plan view ofa contact plate.

Figures ll, 12, and 13 are diagrammatic showings of the inner driver,the outer driver, and the carrier illustrating the sequential operationthereof.

Referring to the drawings, there is showna relay embodying the inventionand including a bracket 20 provided with a flange 22 by whichthe relaymay be mounted. The bracket 20 is secured against the closed end of acup-shaped-magnetizable housing 24 by a magnetizable pole piece 26 whichhas a reduced diameter portion 28 received in apertures 30 and 32,respectively, of the bracket 20 and the housing 24. The shoulder 34 ofthe pole piece 26 is secured against the'closed end of the housing 24 bythe tangs 36 which are staked over against the bracket 20. Housing 24 isprovided at its open end with a counter bore to provide a shoulder 38for receiving magnetizable end closure plates 40 and 42 secured againstthe shoulder 38 by riveting over a portion 44 of the housing 24. The endplates 40 and 42 are centrally apertured to receive a non-magnetizabletube 46 which is supported by the pole piece 26 and the annular flange47 of the end plate 42. A coil 48 is located within the housing 24 andhas terminal leads 50 brought out through openings 52 in the'end plates40 and 42.

An armature 54 slidably mounted in tube 46 has a conical cavity toconform to the conical boss 58 of the pole piece 26. A ring 60 ofnon-magnetizable material is welded or brazed to the shoulder 62 of thepole piece 26 to prevent freezing of the armature 54 to the pole piececaused by the residual magnetism of the pole piece when the coil 48 isdeenergized. A driving shaft 64 in the form of a rod of non-magneticmaterial slidably extends through an aperture 66 in the pole piece 26and has one end threadably secured to the armature 54. The free end ofthe driving shaft 64 is slidably received in the bore 68 of a terminalblock 70 formed of insulating material. Two studs 72 attached to themounting bracket 20 are provided with shoulders 74 against which theterminal block 70 is secured by nuts 76. As best seen in Figures 2 and 9the terminal block 70 carries the stationary contacts and'terminals ofthe relay. One of these contacts comprises a ring-shaped conductor 78formed of a suitable conducting material such as brass and is secured tothe terminal block 70 by three rivets 80. One of the rivets 80 alsoserves to hold a terminal 82 in position upon the opposite side of theterminal block 70 and to provide an electrical connection between theterminal 82 and the conductor 78. Six contact rivets 84 radiallydisposed about the conductor 78 have upset ends 86 serving to secure theterminals 88 to the terminal block 70.

A contact plate 90 formed from a suitable conducting materialsuch asbrass is rotably driven by a carrier 92 which forms part of an operatingmechanism for converting the reciprocal movement of the armature 54 intorotary movement. The face of the carrier 92 which is. located adjacentthe terminal 70 is provided with three pockets or wells 96 and acylindrical boss98 having three rectangular extensions 100 spaced apart.The contact plate 90 is provided with three spaced contact elements 102,104, and 106 pressed outwardly from one side to engage the ring-shapedconductor 78 and the contact rivets 84- on the terminal block 70. Thecontacts 102 and 104 are urged against one of the contact rivets 84 bythree springs 108, each of which has one end seated within. a carrierwell 96and the opposite end engaging the contact plate 90 as shown inFigure 4. The contact plate 90 is also provided with an aperture 110formed to receive and key the carrier boss 98 with a sliding fit. I

The operating mechanism for converting the reciprocal movement of thearmature 54 into rotary movement includes in addition to the carrier 92two other main elements, namely, the inner driver 112 and the outerdriver 114. The carrier 92, the inner driver 112, and the outer driver114 may be formed from a suitable material such as a phenoldzormaldehydemolding material. The carrier 92 includes a central opening 116 and areduced diameter hub portion 118 having an end face 120 comprising aseries of six ratchet teeth 122 circumferentially disposed about theopening 116. A similar series of six cam projections 124 providing acircular camming track 126 of hill and dale or notched contour islocated at the base of the hub portion 118.

The inner driver 112 comprises a substantially cylindrical body havingtwo longitudinal lugs 128 projecting radially outward therefrom and acentral aperture 130 therein to receive the driving shaft 64. The faceof the inner driver 112 adjacent the carrier 92 is formed with a seriesof six ratchet teeth 132 for interfitting relation with the six teeth122 projecting from the carrier 92, each tooth 132 being complementallyshaped to seat in a notch of the end face 120. The face of the innerdriver 112 adjacent the pole piece 26 is provided with two grooves 134for receiving the opposite ends of a transversely disposed pin 136carried by the driving shaft 64. The inner driver 112 has a counterboreat the opposite face to provide a shoulder 138 for receiving acompression spring 140 disposed about the driving shaft 64 which reactsagainst the terminal block 70 to yieldingly maintain the ratchet teeth122 and 132 separated and to maintain the pin 136 in engagement with thegrooves 134.

The outer driver 114 includes a central aperture 142 having twolongitudinal recesses 144 diametrically disposed on the inner surfacethereof to slidably receive and guide the inner driver 112. The outerdriver 114 is provided with a circular camming track 146 having six camprojections 148 complementally shaped and dis posed for cooperativeengagement with the camming track 126. The outer driver 114 alsoincludes two notched extensions 150 which straddle the studs 72. Acompression spring 152 confined between the extensions 150 and themounting bracket 20 operates to maintain the outer driver 114 yieldinglyin engagement with the carrier 92. This construction prevents rotationof the inner driver 112 and the outer driver 114 relative to each otheror to the terminal block 70 while providing for longitudinal movement ofthe inner and outer drivers relative to each other and to the terminalblock.

The operation of the relay is best seen with reference to Figures 11,12, and 13 where the ratchet teeth and the cam projections of thecarrier, the inner driver, and the outer driver have been shownprojected upon a single plane to illustrate the relation of thecooperating parts. For further clarity of illustration, the ratchetteeth 122 and the cam projections 124 of the carrier 92 are shownprojecting in opposite directions and disposed opposite, respectively,the ratchet teeth 132 of the inner driver 112 and the cam projections148 of the outer driver 114. Figure 11 illustrates the relative positionof the ratchet teeth and the cam projections when the coil 48 isdeenergized as indicated in Figure 4. The inner driver 112 is displacedaway from. the carrier 92 by spring 140 such that the ratchet teeth 122and 132 are separated. The outer driver 114 is biased toward the carrier92 by spring 152 such that the cam. projections 124 and 148 are engagedto retain the carrier 92 in a selected position relative to the terminalblock 70. The thrust of the spring 152 against the outer driver 114 istransmitted to the carrier 92 to press the contact plate 90 against theterminal block 70. A circuit is thus complete from the terminal 82 toone of the terminals 88 through one of the rivets to the conductor 78,and then through the contacts 102, 104, and 106 to one of the contactrivets 84.

Movement of the armature 54 toward the pole piece 26 upon energizationof coil 48 urges the inner driver 112 against the carrier 92 in astraight line such that a portion of the inclined surface of eachratchet tooth 122 engages a portion of the similarly inclined surface ofa ratchet tooth 132. As the longitudinal movement of the inner driver112 continues, the ratchet teeth 122 slide upon the ratchet teeth 132 torotate the carrier 92 about the driving shaft 64 and simultaneouslydrive the contact plate in the same direction. Upon rotation of thecarrier 92, the cam projections 148 of the outer driver 114 are causedto ride up one side of the cam projections 124 to further compress thespring 152 and to move over the peaks as indicated in Figure 12.

When the coil 48 is deenergized, the spring urges the inner driver 112away from the carrier 92 to disengage the ratchet teeth 122 and 132. Thecarrier 92 is then free to rotate and the spring 152 urges the outerdriver 114 toward the terminal block 70 in a straight line to drive thecam projections 148 down the inclined surfaces of the cam projections124 and into seating engagement with the camming track 126 as shown inFigure 13. This causes a second rotary advancement of the carrier 92with a corresponding movement of the contact plate 90 in the samedirection to complete a circuit including the contact element 106 and anewly selected contact rivet 84. The cam projections 124 act as pawls toretain the carrier 92 in the selected position until the coil 48 isagain energized. It is apparent the other contact rivets 84 will besequentially engaged by the contact element 106 upon successiveenergizations of the coil 48.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in its preferredembodiment and has included certain details, it should be understoodthat the invention is not to be limited to the precise details hereinillustrated and described since the invention may be carried out inother ways falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. An operating mechanism comprising a rotatable first member having aseries of ratchet teeth and a series of cam projections; a non-rotatablesecond member mounted for reciprocal movement and having a similarseries of ratchet teeth adapted to engage the ratchet teeth of the firstmember when the second member is moved toward the first member to rotatethe first member; reciprocating means for the second member operable toalternately move the ratchet teeth of the second member into and out ofengagement with the ratchet teeth of the first member; a non-rotatablethird member mounted for reciprocal movement and having a similar seriesof cam projections adapted to engage the cam projections of the firstmember to cause further rotation of the first member when the secondmember is moved away from the first member; and spring means reactingagainst the third member to yieldably urge the cam projections of thethird member into engagement with the cam projections of the firstmember.

2. An operating mechanism comprising a rotatable first member having aseries of ratchet teeth arranged in a circular manner and a series ofcam projections arranged concentrically about the series of ratchetteeth; a non rotatable second member mounted for reciprocal movement andhaving a similar series of ratchet teeth adapted for cooperative cammingengagement with the ratchet teeth of the first member to rotate thefirst member in a predetermined direction when the second member ismoved toward the first member; a non-rotatable third member mounted forreciprocal movement and having a similar series of cam projectionsadapted to engage the cam projections of the first member; a firstspring reacting against the second member to yieldably urge the secondmember away from the first member; a second spring reacting against thethird member to yieldably urge the cam projections of the third memberinto engagement with the cam projections of the first member; and thecam projections being disposed relative to the ratchet teeth such thatrotation of the first member upon movement of the second member towardthe first member cams the third member axially in a direction away fromthe first member whereby the second spring acting on the third memberimparts a further rotation of the first member in said predetermineddirection when the second member moves away from the first member.

3. In an electric switch, a plurality of fixed contacts; a contactcarrier rotatable with respect to the fixed contacts and including aseries of ratchet teeth and a series of cam projections; a contact platedriven by the carrier for engagement with the fixed contacts; anon-rotatable first driving member mounted for reciprocal movement andhaving a similar series of ratchet teeth adapted to engage the ratchetteeth of the carrier when the first driving member is moved toward thecarrier to rotate the carrier; operating means to move the first drivingmember toward the carrier; yieldable means reacting against the firstdriving member to cause a return movement of the first driving memberafter each movement thereof toward the carrier; a non-rotatable seconddriving member mounted for reciprocal movement and having a similarseries of cam projections adapted to engage the cam projections of thecarrier to cause further rotation of the carrier when the first drivingmember is moved away from the carrier; and spring means reacting againstthe second driving member to yieldably urge the cam projections of thesecond driving member into engagement with the cam projections of thecarrier and to maintain the contact plate in engagement with the fixedcontacts.

4. In an electrical switch; a terminal block having an aperture andcarrying a plurality of fixed contacts; an electromagnet having amovable armature; a driving shaft connected to the armature and mountedfor reciprocal movement in the aperture of the terminal block; a contactcarrier rotatable about the driving shaft and including a series ofratchet teeth and a series of cam projections; a contact plate rotatableacross the terminal block and driven by the carrier for selectiveengagement with the fixed contacts; an inner driver movable in straightline movement with the driving shaft and having a similar series ofratchet teeth adapted to engage the ratchet teeth of the carrier whenthe inner driver is moved toward the carrier upon energization of theelectromagnet; a first spring urging the inner driver away from thecarrier; a non-rotatable outer driver having a keyed bore receiving theinner driver for axial sliding movement therein while preventingrotation of the inner driver; the outer driver being mounted forreciprocal movement and having a similar series of cam projectionsadapted to engage the cam projections of the carrier to cause furtherrotation of the carrier when the inner driver is moved away from thecarrier by the first spring upon deenergization of the electromagnet;and a second spring reacting against the outer driver to yieldably urgethe cam projections of the outer driver into engagement with the camprojections of the carrier and to maintain the contact plate inengagement with the fixed contacts.

5. In an electric switch, a rotatable contact carrier; non-rotatablefirst and second driving members mounted for reciprocal movementrelative to each other and to the carrier; the carrier and the firstdriving member having cooperative cam surfaces; spring means urging thefirst driving member against the carrier; the carrier and the seconddriving member having cooperative cam surfaces adapted to rotate thecarrier upon movement of the second driving member toward the carrier;reciprocating means for alternately moving the second driving membertoward and away from the contact carrier; said rotation of the carrieracting to cam the first driving member away from the carrier; and thespring means being operative upon movement of the second driving memberaway from the carrier to move the first driving member axially intoengagement with the carrier to further rotate the carrier.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS701,627 Schreier et al. June 3, 1902 1,504,227 Gent Aug. 12, 19242,528,520 Jackson et a1 Nov. 7, 1950

